The 40th season of Monday Night Football was the highest-rated and most-viewed season since ESPN assumed sports television's signature series in 2006 (four seasons). MNF was once again the most-watched series on cable television in 2009, set an all-time cable viewership record for the fourth straight year and drew the year's 15 biggest cable household audiences (and top 14 among viewers). For the first time, ESPN's MNF averaged higher than a 10 rating and 14 million viewers for the season. Monday Night Football ranks No. 10 among all regularly scheduled television programs this season.

In four seasons on ESPN, Monday Night Football has registered eight of the top 10 all-time biggest household audiences in cable history, led by this year's Packers-Vikings telecast October 5, which attracted cable's largest audience ever in both households (15,136,000 homes) and viewers (21,839,000), as well as the highest rating (15.3) in ESPN's 30-year history.

MNF ended on a particularly strong note with last night's game � the Chicago Bears' 36-30 dramatic upset in overtime over the Minnesota Vikings -- delivering a 12.0 rating, representing an average of 11,899,000 households (17,006,000 viewers � P2+). The game ranks as the fifth largest household audience of all-time (No. 6 among viewers). MNF led all the night's programs (broadcast or cable) among households, viewers and all key male and adult demos, making ESPN the top network for the night in all categories. It was the sixth time MNF won the night for total viewers among all networks this season.

"The 40th season of Monday Night Football was an overwhelming success with competitive games, record-setting ratings and a resoundingly positive reaction from fans about our presentation," said George Bodenheimer, president, ESPN and ABC Sports. "It is a credit to the hundreds of people who work on the show week after week to ensure that the NFL's most storied television franchise continues to set the bar for sports on television while also ranking among the most-watched programs of the year."

MNF on TV

MNF occupies eight of the top 10 spots on the list of cable's biggest audiences ever among both households (excludes breaking news), and two games this season each averaged more than 21 million viewers � Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings game (Oct. 5) with an average of 21,839,000 total viewers (15,136,000 households, based on a 15.3 rating), and New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints (Nov. 30) with an average of 21,402,000 viewers (14,872,000 households, based on a 15.0 rating).

Other highlights for the 2009 NFL season:

ESPN's MNF games account for the 15 biggest household audiences for any cable television program in 2009.

ESPN led all networks � cable or broadcast � in delivery of men 18-34 and men 18-49 every Monday in primetime this season; ESPN was also No. 1 in men 25-54 in 15 of 16 weeks and No. 1 among people 18-49 in 13 weeks.

Six times, ESPN won the night as the most-watched network among households and viewers � cable or broadcast � in primetime on Monday.

For the past 11 consecutive weeks, ESPN has led all cable networks in delivery of adult men on a total-day basis, as well as men 18-54. ESPN has been #1 among M18+ and M18-54 for 14 of the past 15 weeks.

ESPN Deportes' Spanish-language coverage of Monday Night Football also delivered its highest-rated and most-viewed NFL season ever with an average 0.9 Hispanic rating, 45,000 Hispanic households, and 62,000 Hispanic viewers, increases of 80%, 150% and 107%, respectively, from 2008.

ESPN.com

For the season, NFL content on ESPN.com, including "Monday Night HQ," accessed via computers and mobile devices sparked a 24% increase in traffic on Mondays (through Tuesdays at noon ET) with an average 84.6 million page views per week. Additionally, ESPN.com streamed an average 2.8 million NFL related videos per week � an increase of 7% over 2008.

ESPN's Monday Night Football team of Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski will return to the booth to call the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl at Dolphin Stadium in South Florida when the matchup of NFC vs. AFC stars kicks off Super Bowl week. The Pro Bowl will be televised Sunday, January 31, 2010 on ESPN and ESPN HD at 7:20 p.m. ET.